


Alive

by Lost_And_Insane



Series: Genyatta One-Shots [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Genyatta - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, Overwatch - Freeform, alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 21:31:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14923199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lost_And_Insane/pseuds/Lost_And_Insane
Summary: What if Genji and Zenyatta had been there the night Mondatta was assassinated?“It’s you. I thought you ran away from Overwatch.”“That doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to kill an inspiration.”





	Alive

“Is it going to take much longer?”

“Patience, my student.”

Genji looked at all the faces of the people around him. Everyone looked so excited, and happy; they were looking forward to finally seeing Mondatta in person and hearing his speech. Genji turned to look at his master, and he was certain that if the omnic could smile, he would be.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen Mondatta?” Genji asked.

“It’s been two years,” Zenyatta said. “He’s been traveling to hold these speeches, so he hasn’t had time to visit Nepal often.”

Genji had heard much about Mondatta, but never met him before. He knew the omnic meant a lot to Zenyatta, so he was glad he was able to accompany his master to visit one of his speeches; after two years, the two friends would finally meet again.

Although Zenyatta didn’t fully stand behind everything Mondatta did and said, he still supported him like a brother would. Technically, Genji realized, the two were brothers, and he felt proud of his master for supporting Mondatta regardless of their differences in belief.

Suddenly, the crowd started cheering, chanting loudly for Mondatta. There was some movement behind the stage, and then the omnic finally appeared. Applause and cheerful laughter followed him as he slowly moved to stand behind the lectern.

Mondatta raised his hands, and the crowd quieted down instantly.

“Human, machine, we are all one within the Iris,” he spoke. With that, everyone once again started cheering; the crowd was latching onto his words like they were the most important thing in the world. Genji thought all of it was so melodramatic, but who was he to judge others’ happiness?

“Before me I see the future,” Mondatta continued. “Humans and omnics standing together.”

While everyone was listening to the omnic’s words, Genji noticed the change of expression of the guard standing next to Mondatta. He mumbled something in his earpiece and scanned the rooftops of the buildings behind the crowd. Genji turned to look as well, but he couldn’t see the cause of distress.

“Genji?” Zenyatta’s voice startled Genji out of his thoughts. He looked at his master, who was no longer focused on his brother’s speech now that he sensed his student’s distress.

“Something's wrong,” Genji said. He scanned the rooftops once more, but spotted nothing out of the ordinary. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

Before Zenyatta could say anything to stop him, Genji was pushing his way through the busy crowd, muttering an apology whenever he bumped into someone. He sprinted towards the backstreets. With everyone focused on Mondatta, the rest of the streets were completely abandoned, giving Genji the space to look around for anything out of the ordinary. He kept his gaze focused on the roofs as he sprinted through the small alleyways.

His visor was able to spot the threat before he did, and he instantly recognized her from an old Overwatch mission. ‘Widowmaker’, she called herself, the emotionless sniper. What was she doing here? Was Talon planning to assassinate Mondatta?

Widow was dangling upside-down, aiming her sniper at Mondatta through the buildings. Reacting instantly, Genji threw a shuriken towards the cord she was connected to, making it snap. The surprise was evident on Widow’s face, but she managed to latch onto a ledge before falling all the way down. She heaved herself in through a window, disappearing from Genji’s sight.

Climbing up, Genji jumped through the widow as well, landing right in front of Widowmaker in the staircase.

Widow scoffed, pressing a button on her visor to make it move away from her eyes. “It's you. I thought you ran away from Overwatch.”

“That doesn't mean I'll allow you to kill an inspiration.”

She let out another scoff, a smile appearing on her face almost as if to say ‘challenge accepted’. Without another word, she raised her hand and shot another cord upwards, using it to swiftly move back towards the roof. Genji jumped back out of the window and skillfully climbed up to chase her.

Once he’d hopped onto the roof without a Widowmaker in sight, he was momentarily worried he’d lost her, but right then he sensed movement behind him. He turned right in time to see Widow aim her rifle at him. Genji only just barely managed to get behind cover when she opened fire.

With Widow busy shooting at him, he figured he had to contact Zenyatta to let him know what was going on. Using the tech in his helmet, he opened a line to the omnic, who answered immediately.

“Genji, where are you? What’s happening?” 

“Master, there's a sniper on the roof. I'm chasing after her, but I need you to evacuate Mondatta,” Genji spoke quickly, looking down to see Mondatta still holding his speech in the distance.

Zenyatta’s worry was evident in his usually calm voice. “A sniper? Oh no. I'll see what I can do, but I doubt security will listen to me.”

“Mondatta will trust you, so try to get to him. Just make sure he's out of sight. I know this sniper, and she's not going to back down easily.”

“Leave it to me,” Zen said confidently, making Genji feel a lot less anxious. Zenyatta was good at calming him. “Oh, and Genji? Please be careful.”

The student laughed cheekily. “When am I ever not careful?”

“Genji..”

“Alright, alright,” he gave in. “Don't worry, Zen. I'll be careful, promise.”

As Genji closed the line, he realized Widow was no longer shooting at him. Reloading, he figured, so he jumped away from cover with his ōdachi unsheathed, only to find Widow gone.

Muttering a swearword, he sheathed the weapon and ran across the rooftops in search for her. When he saw someone in the corner of his eye, he felt relief for just a moment before he realized it wasn’t Widowmaker; it was a guard patrolling with his weapon at the ready. He’d probably heard the commotion.

Genji turned off the green lights of his cybernetic body, not wanting the guards to spot him and mistake him as an assassin. Ironic, he thought to himself, shaking his head to rid of his thoughts. He had to focus and find Widow before it was too late.

Luckily, the guard did the searching for him. He yelled out a “Stop right now!” and opened fire only moments later. Widowmaker appeared as if from nowhere, knocking the guard down without any of the shots connecting, and Genji immediately resumed his pursuit.

She was quick, he had to give her that. The cord gave her extra mobility that overshadowed Genji’s parkour, so each time he got close to her, she managed to jump way out of his reach once again. However, Genji could see the frustration in her eyes, her spider-like visor turning on and off as she tried to find her main target. As long as Genji was chasing her, she wouldn’t have the time to focus on Mondatta. All he had to do was keep her busy.

Widowmaker seemed to realize this as well, because out of nowhere, she turned around, her rifle transforming into her long-range sniper. It was aimed right at Genji, who came to an abrupt halt. She didn’t waste any time pulling the trigger.

In a second, Genji had pulled out his blade to deflect the shot, but he already knew he was too late. He only just scraped the bullet as it connected with his chest, the force of it so strong that it managed to throw him off balance. He could barely register what was happening when he no longer felt any ground to stand on, and then he was falling.

As soon as he hit the ground, his chest eruptted in blinding pain. His visor showed him multiple warnings and system failures, but he looked passed them, willing his vision to get less blurry as he tried to see where he was.

He managed to push himself up the slightest bit as his vision refocused. At the end of the street, he could see Mondatta being escorted towards the car, away from the stage. Thank God, It seemed like Zen had managed to convince them of the danger.

The mental celebration was over in a flash. A loud gunshot rang throughout the streets, followed by a heavy silence. Genji froze, watching helplessly as Mondatta fell backwards, hidden behind the once lively crowd. The silence seemed to last ages, but it couldn’t have been longer than a couple of seconds when the crowd’s screaming took over.

“No!” Genji screamed out, clutching his chest as pain once again took over. More warnings had appeared on his visor, but he still forced himself to get up, stumbling in the direction of the panicked crowd. He only managed to walk a few steps until he fell back onto his knees, heaving and coughing. Some people were still huddled around where Mondatta fell, others were running.

His eyes were still fixated on where Mondatta had been standing moments ago, and he didn’t look away even when he heard slow footsteps behind him. Widowmaker stepped into his line of sight and Genji slowly lifted his head to look at her expression.

“Looks like the party is over. You should've stayed away, I would’ve spared you,” she said smugly, a smile on her face and her rifle slung over her shoulder.

“Why? Why would you do this?” Genji asked, his voice not louder than a whisper. Widow laughed like he’d just told a good joke. Abruptly, she kicked him, making him fall on the ground again. Through the bright warning signs, Genji could only just make out the rifle aimed at his face.

“Au revoir, chérie.”

He could no longer see, his visor shutting off completely. Genji was helpless; he could do nothing but wait for his death. He expected the sound of the gun any second. 

Instead of the loud gun, however, he could distantly make out a familiar sound. Meditation. Why did he think about meditating? That sound… it was so familiar.

A gentle hand was placed on Genji’s shoulder, and he suddenly remembered the sound – Zenyatta’s orbs. He tried to reach for the hand or speak, but he found he had no energy to do so. His visor – he had to take off his visor. It was suffocating him.

As if his mental prayers were heard, his visor was ripped off his face, and Genji could see again. He took loud, heaving breaths, blinking tears out of his eyes that he didn’t know had formed. Zenyatta was right by his side, one of his harmony orbs floating next to Genji to help him stabilize. Widowmaker was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing his master again, what happened hit Genji all over again. “Zenyatta… I'm... I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop her. I-I..”

Genji felt his eyes tear up once again and Zenyatta hushed him, gingerly lifting his student off the ground. “You're hurt, Genji. We need to get you home.”

Zenyatta took care in avoiding the crowds, carrying Genji through abandoned backstreets in the direction of their apartment. Everything that had happened kept replaying in Genji’s head. The shot… It had been so ear-piercing… He saw Mondatta fall, but did that truly mean that he’d been killed? He didn’t see him after the shot, maybe he could still be saved. Maybe the shot hadn't been fatal.

“Mondatta... I-Is he really..?” Genji winced at how quiet and weak his voice sounded.

“I'm afraid so,” came Zenyatta’s equally quiet response. Although he was trying to hide it, Genji could hear the emotion in his master’s voice. Another pang went through his chest, a pain different than from getting shot. Mondatta meant so much to Zenyatta. Genji knew what it felt like to lose a brother; the horrible pain that his master must be feeling.

“I'm s-sorry,” Genji mumbles again. “It's m-my fault.”

Breathing was starting to hurt, and it was only now that Genji realized he’d been breathing on his own, without the help of his internal ventilator. Widow's shot had disabled the cybernetic that helped him breathe.

“I c-can't breathe,” Genji heaves, panic flaring up in his chest.

“Then stop talking,” came Zenyatta’s response. “We’re almost there.”

Black spots started appearing in Genji’s vision, this time not because of a defective visor. The sound of his own pained breathing seemed deafening in his ears, echoing in his head, combined with a loud ringing. He wanted to look around to see if they were nearing the apartment, but he couldn’t find the energy to turn. Instead, he just settled with looking up at Zenyatta, and then he suddenly couldn't seem to remember how to breathe.

Finally, silence.

-

Genji’s body felt heavy. Distantly, he could hear the soft chiming of Zenyatta's orbs, but when he went to turn he found that moving his head was near impossible.

Eventually, he managed to slowly open his eyes, and the relief at seeing the roof of his rented apartment gave him the energy he needed to turn towards his master, who was meditating on the floor next to him.

As Genji slowly pushed himself in a sitting position, reality came crashing back down. Mondatta was gone. Zenyatta must be so heartbroken; the only reason they’d come all the way to King's Row was to witness Mondatta's speech. They’d arranged to travel back to Nepal together, to catch up on each other's lives.

Instead, Mondatta had been killed. And it was Genji's fault.

Genji's rising anxiety was what shook Zenyatta out of his meditation, the omnic suddenly looking up at his student. 

“You're awake,” he said. He sounded relieved, and Genji felt ashamed to admit that for a moment – just a moment – he’d expected Zen to sound disappointed.

There’s a long silence that fell over the two, which, for a change, felt uncomfortable. Genji let his gaze go through the room, finding some newspapers with Mondatta's assassination on the front page. The small television was on as well, the sound muted but the news playing. Zenyatta must've been torturing himself looking at those.

“Zen... I'm so sorry.”

There was another silence, and Genji kept his eyes focused on the floor. He'd never had to comfort someone before. It had always been the other way around.

“Don't ever do that again,” Zenyatta spoke suddenly, his voice stricter than Genji had heard before. He could feel panic and guilt flaming up at his master’s words, and he couldn’t help but flinch.

Genji kept his eyes focused on the ground, not daring to look up. “I-I know, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have failed, and-”

“No, Genji,” Zenyatta sighed softly; something the omnic often did when he couldn't calm himself. “That's not what I mean.”

“Oh?” Genji eyes shot up to meet Zenyatta’s.

“You almost died. I could've lost you. You promised me that you'd be careful, yet you threw your life on the line like it was nothing.” Zenyatta's orbs had stopped chiming, their stillness feeling unfamiliar and cold. “I don't know what I'd do if I lost you as well.”

Genji was too stunned to respond. Not that he’d know what to say if he could. He was still punching himself with guilt; what if he'd done things differently? What if he hadn't failed to deflect Widow's shot? Could he have saved Mondatta?

“It is not your fault, my student,” Zenyatta said, reading Genji like an open book.

“Still... I wish things had gone differently.”

“I'm just glad to still have you.”

Another short silence followed, but it no longer felt uncomfortable. Genji moved closer to Zen and hugged him from the side, letting his head rest on his master’s shoulder.

“I'm sorry, master. I'm here for you, just like you always have been for me.”

Slowly, Zenyatta's orbs started making soft chimes again, hovering around the two like they were one.

“Thank you, Genji.”

**Author's Note:**

> Something quick I wrote after seeing the Overwatch animated short 'Alive'. I started playing only recently when my brother bought me the game. I have no idea if there are still people in this fandom, but hey, I'm definitely in. Better late than never, right?
> 
> Having some difficulty learning/portraying Zenyatta's character in my writing, and I'm looking forward to learning more about him and his behaviors/characteristics. Expect more Genyatta in the near future.
> 
> Overall, not one of my best works, but still something I felt was worth posting. Hope you enjoyed!


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